7 Signs of Mental Fatigue + Easy Solutions

Most introverts have struggled with mental fatigue at some point. For some introverts it’s a constant battle. Your mind is tired and overloaded to the point that your mental resources are depleted. Mental processing moves at the speed of fog. Unfortunately, life doesn’t slow down just because your brain has decided to go on holiday.

How can you deal with mental fatigue when the demands on your overloaded brain never cease? There are easy ways to prevent and fix mental fatigue, which we’ll talk about in a bit.

But first, here are the signs that you do indeed have mental fatigue:

1. You want to put the world on mute.

Introverts process more information from our environments at a given time than extroverts. That’s why we’re more prone to overstimulation. When you’re struggling with mental fatigue the sensory overload can be unbearable. You become acutely aware of the noise, busyness, bright lights, and constant chatter surrounding you. You want to close the door, turn off the lights, and make it all go away.

2. Even small decisions are tough.

When you have mental fatigue, making decisions feels overwhelming. After all, even small decisions require a degree of mental clarity. When it already feels like too many tabs are open in your brain, decisions can cause a brain freeze—and not the yummy ice cream induced kind. It’s more like when your computer freezes right as you’re about to save an important assignment.

3. You’re moodier than a Tim Burton movie.

Introverts have a bit of a reputation for being moody as it is. In our defence, usually our sudden mood swings have to do with social overwhelm and overstimulation. Mental fatigue causes even more emotional sensitivity. One minute you might feel fine as wine and the next, you’re crying in a bathroom stall.

4. Your motivation has officially left the building.

It’s beyond difficult to stay motivated when you’re struggling with mental fatigue. After all, mental fatigue is your mind’s way of telling you that it’s taking a break whether you like it or not.

Basically, your brain is pissed that you’ve been like a slavedriver boss working it to the bone as if it’s a minimum wage employee. It sits back and laughs at your futile efforts to do anything but curl up in the fetal position on the couch.

5. You have the attention span of a toddler.

Mental fatigue turns you into a toddler with a ten-second attention span. You try to focus on work, but your thoughts get carried away with the wind. The worst part is that you can’t even enjoy your forays into fantasy land because your imagination is fried, too. Your brain is a cold, grey room full of nothing but worries on repeat.

6. You eat like you’re a contestant on Survivor.

You cope with mental fatigue by changing the way you eat. You might eat less because you feel too stressed to nourish yourself. Or you stuff your face with simple carbs to give your tired brain a quick hit of sugar bliss.

7. Your body is angry at you.

There are plenty of psychosomatic symptoms associated with mental fatigue. After all, “psyche” means mind and “soma” means body. Put them together and you have a concept that’s taken modern medicine way too long to acknowledge: pain in the brain equals pain in your body.

This makes sense since your brain keeps your body humming like a souped up Mustang. Unfortunately, when you have mental fatigue, your body starts to break down, too.

Mental fatigue throws a wrench in your colon and messes up your digestion. You might also have sore muscles, cramps, headaches, and the sense that everything is a pain in the ass. On top of all that, mental fatigue slows down your ability to heal from injury and illness.

Now that you know the signs of mental fatigue, you can take easy steps to prevent and fix it. Here are some suggestions:

Think less

Asking an introvert to stop thinking is like asking a sloth to hurry up. It seems unnatural, because it is. But we introverts can think LESS. We can be more choosey about where we devote our mental attention. If it’s not essential, then delegate it, ditch it, or be like Annie and sing Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

Be a boundaries b*tch

Excuse the harsh language, but sometimes you just have to take a not-so-nice approach to the things that matter. Set firm boundaries around when you will work and when you will rest. Protect those boundaries with mama lion fierceness.

Take better care of your body

We’ve already talked about the brain-body connection. It goes both ways. How you treat your body has a huge impact on your mental health. Feeding it properly and exercising regularly will both prevent and cure mental fatigue.

Treat yourself

Small rewards are both motivating and, well, rewarding. It feels good to take a break and give yourself a treat for all your hard work.

Think of it this way, as children we were programmed to believe that when we were good we would get a little reward. Good boys and girls got a gold star, a cuddle, or a pack of Bubblicous. What kind of message do you send yourself when you work harder and harder with no reward in sight?

Over to you

Do you struggle with mental fatigue? Please do share your thoughts and experiences below. I’d love to hear from you!

21 Comments

Maggie
on October 10, 2018 at 2:12 pm

I’m a receptionist in a busy extroverted sales office. The employees here discuss everything from sports to politics in loud voices. The phone rings non-stop, and there are people coming in and out. I know I’m an introvert and have developed ways to take care of myself in this over-stimulating environment. However, some days it really does get to be too much, and I’m about to have a meltdown. On those days, I must leave work early, darken my apartment, and get into bed. I feel so much relief, like I’m in heaven, when I’m alone in a quiet place, away from the office carnival. After I get my bearings back, I might read a book, or write in my journal. This is how I cope with mental fatigue. Thank you, Michaela, for your wonderful insights.

Great blog!
The mind-body connection…so very true! I’ve developed 3 chronic conditions after years of dealing with mental fatigue inefficiently,
hypothyroidism, asthma and sleep apnea.Add to that anxiety and depression. All of this affects both my outlook on life and thought processes in general.

Then there is the eternal struggle to be understood and accepted, made that more difficult when the lack of comes from one’s own family.

Some of the places I “escape” to are the bathroom, my bedroom, my car, in a book, playing in the dirt, shopping, writing, my patio, refusal to answer phone, texts or emails, avoid reading the news, stay offline, and my favorite, sleeping.

Unfortunately, I still have a teen at home who has numerous friends, making my home seem like Grand Central Station sometimes. Quiet becomes more important and harder to obtain, but I find a way.

Though I am in my mid-50’s, I am still learning ways to take care of me!

hello!
yes, of course I do, even if I am unemployed and rarely leave the house, I am overly sensitive those times and this is difficult to communicate it.
“You become acutely aware of the noise, busyness, bright lights, and constant chatter surrounding you. ” , that is my routine annoy! and I tend to binge eat and self loathing a lot.
staying in silence away from anyone not doing a thing, that helps me a lot! but is not productive.! so I get stressed and run in cycles. but. being in charge of your boundaries, that’s the secret. I agree.

Im not going to hide the fact that I didnt even know there was such a thing as mental overstimulating for introverts. Hmmm, I thank you, for at least now I have an idea why I feel tired and really hardly did anything, why I feel drained at times just getting in bed, yet hardly did anything. Yes, in case you’re wondering I do have a host of physical ailments but they’re being stabilized by meds and appointments.
So this article is my “aha!” moment.
Again, Thank you sooo much!

Mindfulness helps. If you can be aware of moments when you feel you are about to shut down, you can take the necessary steps to take of yourself, such as finding a quiet place or giving yourself some alone time.

The time when I most suffer from mental fatigue is when I work at my part-time job. Even just a bit more than halfway into my shift, especially because it’s on a Saturday night, the cumulative effect of all the socializing that I have to do there makes me wanna go home right then and there.

I won’t be telling anything new when I say that meditation helps to deal with all that freak-show in your head. It really does. Also, consider walking somewhere nice and working out or doing yoga all alone in your place. I know first-hand that sometimes introverts hate the very idea of taking action of any kind. But I’ll tell what staying idle in a cozy dark room isn’t that helpful no matter how good it feels. Push yourself into actions which don’t involve communication with other people and you’ll be much better in no time.

This article was just what I needed! I’m experiencing extreme overload and mental fatigue due to a move and change in lifestyle. It’s disturbing my sleep, causing short term memory loss and fuzzy thinking, and I’m losing more hair than usual. Anxiety and depression are on roller coaster mode.

My solutions are:
-focusing on whole foods and avoiding sugar
-using the Calm app to help me sleep (Stephen Fry reading “Blue Gold” helps me drift away). Also trying to keep a consistent sleep schedule.
-journaling and periodically reading previous entries to notice trends
-“standing up for myself” (really difficult, but gives me back some power)
-spending time alone even if I just sit in my car somewhere and listen to classical music or in silence
-as winter is approaching I make sure I counteract hibernation effects-use a natural light lamp in the morning, avoid carbs & eat more protein, exercise

Making this list reminded me of how many solutions I have learned to use and need right now. I’m putting exercise at the top of my list.

I’m 62 and discovered MB about 6 years ago. It changed my life when I discovered I was an INFP. All the questions I had about about why I felt like a square peg in a round environment were answered.

That’s why articles like this are so helpful. It reminds me that it’s “normal” to have these challenges and that I wouldn’t trade being an INFP for anything. It’s my super power!

Each time I read a blog of yours and others’ comments I want to cry. I joined your blog months ago, but because of how I’ve used my time, I skim them quickly and then file to read when I’m in a better moment. I have been retired for years and am on the other side of the hill and only wish there were Michaela in my life years ago!. I’m just now understanding and accepting who I am because of you. I am an introvert, but always thought there was something off about me. I see pieces of myself in your posts and those of your bloggers. Today’s topic of mental fatigue is spot on. I have so many ailments I’ve been struggling over the course of my life, both physical and mental, that have extremely drained me. Your posts have given me insight in how to battle some of the demons that have been a big part of my life. I just want to thank you and thank God that I found you.

This made sense.
I am an introvert, sick from work right now with a headache, actually it has been so bad, that I had a CT scan, because the doctor worried that I might have had a brain hemorraghe (I am 36!)
Every time I try to decide anything, my brain stops working. When people talk to me, it’s almost painfull.
I am a fulltime nurse and a mother of 5 children, surporting my husband who is a student… there is noise, people and demands around me constantly… mental fatigue sounds right. I am so happy that I found this article, and I will follow your blog from now.
Thank you

I so relate to all of your posts. This one is spot on. About 8 months ago I was “restructured” out of a job by a company I had worked for for 20 years. Not yet close to retirement age (I just turned 47), I became obsessed with finding new employment, at the same time wondering if I’m too old and tired for anyone to want. Or am I making myself older by overthinking? I just haven’t given myself permission to take a break.